A pensione is a family-owned guest house or boarding house. This term is typically used in Portugal, France, Spain, Italy, other Continental European countries, in areas of North Africa and the Middle East that formerly had large European expatriate populations, and in some parts of South America such as Brazil and Paraguay. They also use this term in South Korea and Japan. These small businesses may offer special rates for travellers staying longer than a week. These establishments are similar to the bed and breakfast in North America.
In Switzerland, these family-run guesthouses may be located in historic old buildings, have beautifully designed rooms with private bathrooms and usually have a restaurant for breakfast and dinner. They are less expensive than a full service hotel, since they are family-run and have limited services beyond lodging and food. A real advantage is ongoing interaction with the owners which may provide a more enjoyable experience.
Naguib Mahfouz's 1967 novel Miramar focuses on the lives of the long-term residents of the eponymous pensione in Alexandria in the 1960s.
E.M. Forster's 'Room with a View' opens with the main protagonist Lucy Honeychurch and her spinster counsin and chaperone Charlotte Bartlett complaining about the Pensione Bertolini, where they are staying in Florence, Italy. The first act of the book is based in Florence with many scenes taking place in the Pensione, as Lucy meets characters for the first time who feature throughout the book, most importantly a slightly eccentric young Englishman named George Emerson, and his father.
In Summertime (1955 film), an American/British romantic film starring Katharine Hepburn as Jane Hudson, a single, middle-aged elementary school secretary, who goes on her summer vacation to Venice, Italy. Arriving by water taxi, she stays at the Pensione Fiorini. Owned by the Signora Fiorini (Isa Miranda), a widow who transformed her home into a pensione after World War II.